Plate assembly



NW1, 1938- J. A. MCBRADY -2,135,191.

. PLATE ASSEMBLY Filed June'l, 1957 LICENSED DRIVER IE EaE CAREEUEE/M 7N 26 l' gi ,24J "W John A. Mc Brady Patented Nov. 1, 1938 UNITED rSTATESI PATENT oFFlcE PLATE ASSEMBLY Joan A. Memdy, valley city, N. Dak. Application June 1, 1937,-Serial No. 145,660 s clms- (c1. 4o- 125) An object of the invention resides in providing a construction whereby the companion plate may be properly mounted without alteration of the license bracket or the license plate. I

A still further object of the invention' resides in providing a support for the plates adapted to accommodate any type and size of license plate and companion plate.

A feature of the invention resides in providing a companion plate adapted to be used in conjunction with a license plate having a slot in the upper marginal portion thereof.

A still further object of the invention resides in constructing the companion plate with a tongue adapted to enter the slot, whereby the l 30 A still further'object of the invention resides in constructing the support with two arms adapted to overlie oneanother and to utilize a bolt extending jointly through the tongue and both of the arms for holding the parts assembled.

Another object of the invention resides in conf' structing the arms with slots through which the bolt extends and which slots are adapted to overlie the other slot of the license plate and an opening in the companion platel so that the plate assembly may be attached to the license bracket either through the companion plate or license plate.

Other objects of the invention reside inthe novel combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter illustrated and/or described. j

In the drawing:

Fig. -1 is a front elevational view of a plate a's- I sembly illustrating an embodiment of my invention.

-.' Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken l011 line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and drawn to a larger scale. f

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the plate assembly showing the same` attached to the license bracket t through the companion plate,

, ly the case.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 3 showing the plate assembly attached to the license bracket through the license plate.

In the use of motor vehicles it frequently becomes-desirable toapprise the public of informa- 5 tion in conjunction with the operation of the'motor vehicle in addition to that ordinarily furnished on the license plate. For this purpose companion plates have been secured to the license plate and have been variously attached thereto. attachment of such platesthe companion plate is usually insecurely held in position with the result that frequently the vsame becomes disengaged and broken or lost. The present invention provides a construction whereby the two plates l5V are rigidly held attached to a support which is secured to the license bracket in such a manner as to prevent disengagement of the plates one from the other or loss of either thereof.

My invention can be used with any of the stand- 20 ard formsof license plates and the license bracket for supporting the same and for the purpose of illustration an ordinary form of license plate I2 has been shown in the drawing. This license plate is provided with a body I3 and is construct-l 2 5 i ed from sheet metal, -being preferably stamped into the desired shape. The body I3 has a head or ridge I4 extending circumferentially about the same. Upon the face of the body I3 `are provided the usual numbers I5 which give the license num- 30 ber of the owner of the vehicle and with vfurther data .such as indicated at I6 and I1, giving the State from which the license was issued and the year during which the license is in force. The various notations on thev plate Vmay be printed 35 thereon, as shown 4in the drawing, or the .same maybe both printed and embossed as isfrequent- For the sake. of simplicity plain printing has been illustrated, though it can be readily comprehended that the invention is capable'of use with plates of either type. l. The license plate` I2 is constructed at its upper marginal portion with two longitudinally extending slots I8 and I9 and at its lower marginal portion with two longitudinally extending slots 2l and 22. These slots are disposed. inwardly of-` the bead Il and are symmetrically situated, the slot I8 being directly above the slot 2| .and the slot I9 being .directly above the slot 22. These slots are provided for attachment of the license plate to the license bracket provided with the motor vehicle. -l

Inasmuch as the invention can be applied lto any license bracket, a conventional fonnpof license bracket has been shown in the drawing, A

In the 10 which is indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 23. This license bracket consists of a shank 24 which is provided with a bar 25 connected therewith. The shank 24 is attached t0 some portion of the motor vehicle and supports the bracket relative thereto. The bar 25 is constructed with slots 26 and 21 at its endsby means of which the license plate I2 may be attached to the bracket through either the slots |8 o r |9 or tongue 48.. Anut 55 screwed upon the lshank 'plate I2.

the slots 2| and 22.

In conjunction with the license plate I2 a compa on plate 28 is utilized vwhich may be construct y7d similar to the license plate I2. This companion plate is provided with a body 29 constructed of sheet metal which, similar to the license plate I2, has a bead 3| extending marginally about the same. lUpon the body 29 is printed any appropriate notation which may be desired. For the l purpose of illustration, I have shown at 32, 33 and 34 suitable notations indicating desirable messages or giving desirable data to be conveyed to the public. In addition the State of the driver and the year of his license`vr may be indicated at I 34 and |35. The various.

notations on the plate 28 may be either printed or printed and embossed, the same as the license At the uppermost marginal portion of the body 29 of plate 28 and adjacent the bead 3| are provided two openings which are situated in alignment with the slots I8 and 2| and the slots I9 and 22. These openings serve a purpose tobe presently more fully described.

For supporting the two plates on the bracket 23 two supports 36 and 31 are employed.- Both of these supports being identical in construction only the support 36 will be described in detail. This support consists of two arms 38 and 39 which are identical in construction. Arm 38 is elongated in form-and is provided at one end Awith a' nger 4I which is adapted to hook over the upper edge of the plate 38 and overlie the bead 3|.thereon. This arm is of a length greater than the Width of the plate 28 and extends downwardly over the plate I2. Arm 38 -is provided with a slot 42 which extends to within a short distance of the finger 4I and to within a short- `distance of the other end 43 thereof. Arm 39 is similarly providedwith a finger 44 which engages the lower edge of the plate I 2 and is further provided with a slot 45 which extends across the slot 2| and to within a short distance ofthe other end 46 of. said arm.

The lowermost marginal portionl of the plate 28 is formed with two tongues 41 and 48. These tongues are adapted to extend through the slots I8 and I9 of plate I2 and to overlie. the back side of the plate I2. These tongues prevent relative longitudinal movement of the plates with respect to one another and also hold the plates in coplanar relation. The manner in which the tongues cooperate with the slots I8 and I9 is best shown in Fig. 2. A bolt 51 provided with a countersunk head 52 and a shank 53 is utilized to secure the parts together. -This bolt \passes through the two slots 42 and 45 at the ends 43 and 46 of arms 38 and 39 and the head 52 thereof is received within a socket 54 in the 53 of this bolt holds the parts in" assembled relation.

The manner of assembling the parts ofthe invention is as follows: The plate-29 is rst applied to the plate I2 by-insertingthe tongues 41 and 48 into the slots I8 and I9 so that the said tongues project outwardly beyond the back surface' of the plate I2. Before the plates are brought into coplanar relation the bolts 5I are 'coplanar relation, which holds the heads of the bolts in contact with the rear surface of the plate I2. The `assembled structure is then laid face downward upon a table or other at support. Support 36 is first applied. Arm 39 thereof is next applied and the nger 44 thereof hooked under the lower edge of the plate I2. The shank 53 of bolt 5I is at the same time received in the slot 45 thereof. Arm 38 -is next applied in the same manner. The two arms are then drawn together by applying pressure to the ends thereof and the nut 55 screwed upon the shank 53 of the bolt and tightened down to hold the parts in rigid position. Thereafterthe support 31` is similarly appliedand the plate yassembly is ready to be attached to the bracket 23. Attachment of the plate assembly to the bracket 23 may be accomplished in three different Ways. If desired, the shanks 53 of the bolts 5| vmay be inserted through the slots\26 and 21 of thevbar 25 of bracket 23 and lcck washers 56 and nuts 51 applied tothe same to hold the assembly attached to the bracket by means of these bolts. This arrangement of parts is shown in Fig. 2. If desired, however, the assembly may be supported through the companion plate 28 in which case bolts indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3 by the reference numeral |51 are inserted through the openings 30 of the companion plate 28, the slots 42 in the arms 38 of the supports 36 and 31 and the slots 26 and 21 of the bar 25 of bracket 23. These bolts are provided with nuts and lock washers as described in conjunction with the attachment of the device as shown in Fig. 2. In Fig. 4 theassembly has been shown as mounted through 'attachment to the license plate I2 which is accomplished by using bolts 58. which pass through' the slots 2| and 22 of the plate I2, the slots 45 of thearmsl 39 of'supportsf 38 and 31 and through the slots 26 and 21 of the bar 24 0f bracket 23. Nuts 59 and lock washers not shown clamp the parts in rigid position.

It will readily be comprehended that with my invention the two plates are rigidly and secure-A ly assembled relative to one another so that neither plate can' become accidentally detached from one another. By means of the tongues used and the particular type of supports used the plates are rigidly supported and rmly held in coplanar relation. By means of the three methods of assembly to the license bracket, the assembly'may be adjusted to'accommodate different conditions so that the assembly can be mounted on any motor vehicle without changing the bracketor interfering with parts of the vehicle which might be in the way. The sup-5" ports are extremely'simple in construction and consist of identical arms which'permit of economy 'in manufacture. struction the companion plate may be attached to the motor vehicle without altering the license bracketor drilling or altering the license plate.

The only'tool necessary to install the invention is a pairof pliers.

Changes in the specific form of my invention, as herein disclosed, maybe made within the scope spirit of my invention.

By means of this con- Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: 1. In combination with a licenseplate having a slot at the upper marginal portion thereof, a companion plate formed with a tongue adapted to extend through the slot and to overlie theV back side of the license plate, a pair of arms, one for each plate, `:ngers on the ends of the arms for engagementwith theouter-edges of the plates,` l

said arms overlying said tongue, and fastening means vextending jointly through said tongue and l arms.

2. In combination with 'a license plate having a lslot at the upper marginal portion thereof, a companion plate formed with a tongue adapted to extend through the slot andto overlie the back side of the license plate, a pair of arms, one for each plate, iingers `on 'the ends of the arms for engagement with the outer edges of the plates,

said arms overlying said tongue, and fastening means extendingjointly through Said tongue and arms, said fastening means being disposed en tirely in back of said license plate. A 3. In combination with a license plate havinga slot at the upper marginal portion thereof, a companion' plate formed with a tongue adapted to extend through the slot and to overlie the back side of the license plate, a p air of elongated arms, one for each plate,- said arms having longitudinally extending slots therein, fingers' n the endsl of the arms for engagement with the outer edges of the plates, said arms overlying said tongue, and a-bolt extending jointly through `said tongue and the slots in the arms for holding thev plates attached to said arms.

4.1m' combination with a. license plate having a slot=at the upper I1L18'rgix1a1` portion thereof and avcorresponding slot at the lower marginal portion thereof, a'companion plate formed with a tongue adapted to extend through the upper' slot and to overlie the back of the license plate, an arm overlying thejback of the license plate andhavinga slot extendingacross the lower slot inthe license plate andsaid tongue, a second arm extending across -the companion plate, means on said arms for attaching the plates thereto, and a4 bolt* extending jointly through said tongue and slot in said rst named arm" and `said second named arm for holding the parts secured relative -named plate, a tongue on said companion plate f issuing froin said denoted edge of said companion plate land onset. fromV thev plane# thereof, Vsaid tongue extendlng'through said slotl and overlying said iirst named plate-on .one side thereof, said j tongue having an opening therein, a. support for `saidplates engaging the plate formed with the slot therein and havingan opening registering with the opening in said tongue anda fastener extending through the opening in said vtongue andsupport for securing the parts together and being disposed wholly on one side of 'said plates to conceal the -same from view.- l

` JOHN A. MCBRADY., 

